Vinyl Vs Aluminum Dryer Duct

Plastic or vinyl duct.

Vinyl vs aluminum dryer duct.

The ribbed interior of the flexible duct easily catches lint. Our mfx48 semi rigid aluminum duct is ul approved and fire resistant to 435 f. Therefore a dryer vent duct should be made of non combustible material. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping.

Despite its popular use for many years the plastic duct is not allowed by most building codes. Do not use the plastic or vinyl. Duct joints shall be installed so that the male end of the duct points in the direction of the airflow. In december 2006 underwriters laboratories established ul 2158a clothes dryer transition duct which is an approved standard for flexible high temperature exhaust duct rated to 430 f that can also be used on both electric and gas dryers.

If you do not feel a strong discharge of air the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked. Then all of the clothes dryer exhaust vents into the crawlspace and since no one is likely to notice the damaged duct this could go on for years with lint build up. 2 plastic dryer ducts become brittle after years of use. The dryer vent should be of 4 inch diameter however when the thin foil or vinyl is used and compressed it as well as reducing the diameter to 3 inches it has lots of ridges to trap and accumulate lint and reduce air flow.

The flexible plastic usually vinyl duct is similar to aluminum foil duct but has a thin plastic wall rather than metal foil. You should feel a strong discharge of moist warm air. Eventually they crack and fall apart. Concealed ducting must be rigid metal galvanized or aluminum duct.

Flexible transition hose between the dryer and the wall outlet should be either the foil type or the aluminum flexible duct most preferred. But then home depot and lowes mainly only sell 30 gauge rigid aluminum and classify it as dryer duct venting and most people who are reviewing the 30 gauge rigid aluminum are using it for dryer duct venting.